I’ve been keeping a log of the rides that I’ve done this year mostly for a lark. I’ve learned a couple of things:
- I’m a bike commuter.
- I don’t ride as much as I thought I did.
- I don’t use my bike for many errands.
The first is no surprise, but the second is a little. My friends and family figure that I ride “lots” just because I ride to work most days. I don’t ride for very many errands either. It’s mostly because it’s hard to lock up your bike somewhere in suburbia, and because it’s tough to haul kids & stuff like groceries, even with a trailer.
I know what you mean. I definitely ride less than I thought which, in part, is due to the fact that I go places less than I thought. And some of those times I go with family and only I am comfortable biking in Toronto.
As for errands, I found that Wike’s grocery trailer (http://www.wicycle.com/cargo_shopper_bicycle_trailer.php) is an *amazing* addition. After I got that I went from going shopping once per week to going every two. It holds a tremendous amount of food and even fully loaded is not that bad to pull around.
That trailer looks like a very good value, Todd. We use a Chariot, but mostly for hauling kids. It’s a pretty solid trailer, but there isn’t much room for a kid and groceries in there.
I am very much like you, in that I ride to and from work, but rarely run errands on the bike. I’ve never seen your site before… I’m off to read some more.
I love finding Canadian bike bloggers! I also really like the clean looks of your site.
Although I don’t live in T.O., I’ll be following this site from now on. Do you ride through the winter?
I don’t live in Toronto either, but rather in suburban York Region, just north of the big smoke. I generally quit riding when the snow flies as I’m not comfortable riding on slippery streets in the dark on the heavy/fast traffic of suburban arterial roads. If I had alternate routes on local roads, I think I would feel more comfortable.